Textile heating devices, such as heating pads, heating blanket and the like, can be used to keep individuals or certain muscles of an individual warm. A heating pad general includes opposing layers of cloth material having a heating element disposed there between. The heating element is connectable to an electrical power source through a controller which controls the amount of heat output from the heating element.
The heating element may, for example, be heated by resistance via electricity, and may be provided as one or more metallic wires threaded throughout the pad. The shape and size of the metallic wires may vary, and in some cases the wires may actually be small metallic threads. The heating element may includes a wire construction which is made of a center conductor which has Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) characteristics. Around the center PTC wireis a layer of Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) material. An electric heating pad is typically plugged into a power outlet so that power may be supplied to the heating element, causing the production of heat. In this manner, the heating pad may be used to warm a desired area of the body.